Dollars And Scarves
by Sovereign64
Summary: Masaomi Kida has a crush on a girl who believes to be a loner. Can he help her get out of her misery, even when she's part of a gang wanting to take him and his friends down? Kida X OC
1. Crush

**Sovereign: Hey guys! I'm writing a new story. I really hope you guys will like it!**

_**Dollars and Scarves**_

**Summary: Masaomi Kida has a crush on a girl who believes herself to be a loner. Can he help her get out of her misery, even when she's part of a gang wanting to take him and his friends down?**

_**Prologue: Crush**_

"Cheers!"

Mikado, Anri and Kida yell in unison as they raise their cups and make a toast with each other.

"Congratulations to us for passing our final term exams!" Anri said smiling.

"And congrats to you and Mikado for finally proposing to each other." Kida added.

Mikado smiles at Kida and said, "Thank you Kida."

"You're welcome." Kida said to his friend. The three then sit down and drink their cups of soda. After drinking, they put down their cups and Anri notices the frown on Kida's face.

Anri decides to break his silence by asking him. "So…Kida. You mostly look miserable all day."

"Huh?" Kida looks up at Anri and Mikado.

"Care to tell us what happened? We're your friends." Mikado said.

Kida sighed. "Alright. I really am happy that you two are finally together but…you guys have proposed to each other on the same day I failed to get Saki to be my girlfriend."

"What?!" Mikado cried as he widens his eyes in shock.

"Kida…I'm so sorry." Anri said sadly. "What happened between you two?"

"I propose to her but…she told me she's already taken by someone else." Kida sighed.

"Kida, I'm so sorry things turn out like that, especially since you had a crush on Saki for a year." Mikado said.

Anri smiles at Kida and said, "Don't be sad Kida! I'm sure you'll find another girl whom you'll fall in love with. Maybe even someone as good as Saki!"

Kida snorted and turns his head away. "Yeah…right."

"Don't be sad Kida. This is the time we're supposed to be celebrating. How about we go to our favorite toy store after our dinner? I heard the newest Transformers figures have arrived." Mikado smirked and winks an eye.

Kida nods his head but still frowning. "Yeah, sure."

* * *

At the toy store, a girl walks through the boys' section. She has red shoulder-length hair, blue eyes and wears a brown choker around her neck, a sleeveless white jacket with blue tank top underneath it, black arm pads, black gloves, brown belt with silver buckle, blue jeans and brown boots.

Her eyes are narrowed as she scans through the toys that are hanging in the shelves. _'It better be here, it better be here!'_ She thought.

Then, her eyes widen and a huge smile appears on her face. She has found what she came here for.

"There it is!" She said to herself. She kneels down to the toy she has her eyes locked on and takes it from the shelves. "It's the Cherno Alpha!"

She looks down at the figure through its clear packaging. She smiles as she still couldn't believe that she finally found the figure she's been looking for after visiting six different toy stores across Toshima and its surrounding wards, Shinjuku and Bunkyo. She examines the paint apps on the figure and is happy that it looks perfect with no accidental smudges at all.

She then gleefully hugs the toy. She looks around and narrows her eyes, making sure she didn't made any passer-by jealous of her that she found the toy first before they do. She then smiles innocently and casually leaves the boys' section while still holding the toy in her left hand.

Meanwhile, Mikado, Anri and Kida enter the toy store. Kida gasps as he sees the new Transformers toys hanging at the 'Latest Releases' section.

"I've been waiting for them for months but they are finally here! Woohoo!" Kida then rushes over to the shelf and Mikado and Anri chuckled.

"Kida, Anri and I were look around while you stay here, is that okay?" Mikado asked.

"Sure sure!" Kida quickly replied, raising up a hand. He's now too busy having his eyes locked on the new arrivals.

Mikao and Anri turn to each other and shrug their shoulders. As the two walk away, Kida sees the toy which he has been highly anticipated. He takes the toy from the shelf and decides to immediately buy it anyway. But as he turns around and walks his way to the cashier, the red-haired girl walks by and causing them both to fall to the floor.

**END OF CHAPTER**


	2. Kasumi

_**Chapter 1: Kasumi**_

Kida and the girl fall to the ground and drop the toys they were holding.

"Ow!" Kida groaned in pain as he rubs his nose. "Oh God, I'm so sorry!"

The girl groans as well as she rubs her cheek. She turns to the Cherno Alpha figure she has dropped on the floor and gasps in horror. She goes over to it and grabs the toy.

"Oh god, oh god, oh god…" The girl quickly turns the toy around and examines it, making sure the fall didn't damage the toy whatsoever. "Sir! Do you know what you have done?!" The girl exclaims in horror.

"Look, I'm sorry. I…" Kida then looks up and trails off when he sees the girl, her back still facing him.

The girl then sighs in relief after making sure there was no damage to the toy itself.

"This toy I have with me is extremely exquisite. I spent my entire life searching for it!" She turns around and faces Kida. Kida drops his jaw as he sees her face.

"I…I…" Kida murmured, looking dumbfounded. The girl cocks an eyebrow as she sees the dumb expression on Kida's face.

"Um? Hello?" She asked Kida.

"Huh?" Kida snaps out of his thoughts. "Oh right, right. Sorry."

She sighs and extends her hand. "You want me to help you?" She asked. Kida nods his head and smiles. He grabs her hand and the girl pulls him up.

"Thank you." Kida said, smiling at her. "And sorry again."

The girl shrugged. "Doesn't matter." She looks down at the toy that is still lying on the floor. "You going to get that?"

Kida turns to where the girl was facing and said, "Oh right!" He kneels down and grabs the toy from the floor.

"You collect Transformers?" The girl asked.

"Yeah." Kida laughed as he turns to her. "It's part of my childhood, you know?"

The girl smiles and said to him, "I'm not much of a fan, but I'm glad to personally meet someone who is a robot fan."

Kida laughs as he scratches his head. "I see you are too because you are wanting to buy that Pacific Rim figure."

The girl gasps, goes over to Kida and places her finger at his lips. Kida widens his eyes, looking confused. The girl turns her head around and removes her finger. She whispers into his ear.

"Sorry about that. It's just that these figures are rare in Japan and I don't want anyone to be jealous of me that I found them." She said softly.

As the girl backs away, Kida smiles at her. "Sorry."

The girl smiles back at him. "I have to go now. Nice knowing you, acquaintance."

"It's Kida. Masaomi Kida's my name." Kida introduced himself.

"Hi Kida. I'm Kasumi. Kasumi Kinomoto." Kasumi said to him. Kida watches her walk off and heads to the cashier. He continues watching her paying to the cashier and walks out of the store, now holding a plastic bag containing her toy.

"Kida?" Mikado said as he and Anri walk over to Kida, both of them holding hands. Kida just stood there silently. Mikado then goes in front of him and sees that Kida is just staring out dazed into space with a big dumb smile on his face.

"KIDA!" Anri screamed into Kida's ear.

Kida gasped and snaps out of his thoughts. He turns to Anri with his eyes shell-shocked. "Anri! Don't do that!" He yelled at her, breathing heavily.

Anri giggled while Mikado chuckles as he places his hands on the sides of his hip.

* * *

Later that night, Kasumi returns back to her home.

"Welcome home Kasumi!" A tall girl said as she walks out of the kitchen area and greets Kasumi. It's a Caucasian girl who is six inches taller than Kasumi and has long orange hair, yellow-green eyes and dressed in a long-sleeved tan school uniform, dark green tie, black skirt, long dark blue socks and black shoes.

"Hello Shirley." Kasumi said to the girl, now known as Shirley Fenette. The two hold up their hands and gave each other a high-five.

"I made your favorite, Chicken Onigiri!" Shirley said as she walks back into the kitchen.

"Great." Kasumi said as she walks over to the couch. She grabs a penknife from the table in front of her and takes out the toy from her plastic bag. As she carefully cuts open the packaging with the penknife, Shirley walks over to her and places the plate of onigiri on the table.

"Oh cool, you have successfully found Cherno Alpha! All you need left is Gipsy Danger and you're done!" Shirley said to her.

"Yup." Kasumi simply said. She then places the penknife down on the table and takes the figure out of the packaging.

"By the way Kasumi, you received a call earlier."

"And whom the call belong to?" Kasumi said as she now removes the wires that are wrapped around the figure.

"Your mom." Kasumi gasped and puts down her toy as Shirley said that. "She asked how you are doing and wonders if she should pay you a visit."

Kasumi remained silent for a moment before saying, "No. I'm not ready to see her again."

"She's just concerned about you, that's all." Shirley said.

"I said I'm not ready." Kasumi yelled as she grabs an onigiri.

As she eats it, Shirley sits next to her and said, "You're still not over your argument with her, aren't you?"

"She'll probably just yell at me when she sees me again. I'm a high school dropout after all."

"You are always readmit yourself back to high school."

"But I'm not interested in studying, Shirley." Kasumi turns to her friend and roommate. "The reason why you are now studying in college is because you're smarter than me. While I'm just dumb." She then swallows the rest of her onigiri.

"Don't say that Kasumi. You're not dumb. Nobody's dumb in this world." Shirley clasps her hands together and smiled. "You're just thinking you're dumb because you are always feeling miserable. I visit a few counselling websites and they say that one of the solutions in curing your misery is to have someone in your life."

Kasumi finished eating and said, "I already have you."

"No." Shirley shakes her head. "I mean…"

Kasumi gasps, realizing what Shirley is talking about. "Boyfriend?" Shirley nods her head. "No! I don't need a boyfriend right now! And seriously, look at me; is there really any boy out there who will be instantly attracted to a tomboyish girl like me?"

"That's still no excuse." Shirley said, shaking her finger.

"Well…I'm not smart…"

"Please refer back to my last statement about you not being dumb."

"Well…aren't you catching up with the news lately that the current young generation is having a very hard time trying to find a boyfriend and girlfriend and get married?"

Shirley narrows her eyes and makes a smug look. "You're just finding excuses not to hook up with somebody, aren't you?"

"Ugh…" Kasumi groaned. "I'm just not interested right now, okay?"

"You can't stay single forever Kasumi. You're still young!" Shirley persisted.

"I'll think about it." Kasumi said. Then, the clock rings. Kasumi and Shirley look up and sees the time is 9 PM.

"Oh God, look what happened to the conversation between us! I'm going to be late!" Kasumi cried.

"Right, your night job." Shirley said. Kasumi grabs the remaining two onigiri and walks off.

"Bye Shirley and thanks for the food!" Kasumi said.

"Bye." Shirley watches Kasumi stuffs an onigiri into her mouth and walks out of the house. Shirley sighs as she sat there.

'_She never told me once what her night job is…'_

**END OF CHAPTER**

_P.S.: Shirley Fenette is a character from another anime, Code Geass. I always thought she and Kasumi would pair up together very nicely._


	3. Yellow Scarves

_**Chapter 2: Yellow Scarves**_

Kasumi walks her way down the streets of Ikebukuro. She then arrives at an alleyway. She turns her head left and right before walking inside. She then puts on a yellow scarf around her neck and goes over to a metal door. She knocks on the door and the slot slides open.

"Password." A member said as he looks through the slot.

"The Blue Sky has perished; the Yellow Sky will soon rise." Kasumi said.

"Confirmed." The door opens and Kasumi walks into the room. As the member closes the door behind her, Kasumi walks up the stairs and enters the room upstairs. She knocks on the door.

"Come in." A voice from the other side of the room said. Kasumi opens the door and walks inside. Inside the room is a man sitting behind a desk. He has slick back yellow hair and dressed in a light purple jacket, light purple pants and black shoes.

"Sit down." The man said. Kasumi grabs a chair and sits in front of him.

"What is it Horada?" Kasumi asked.

"Ahem." Horada narrows his eyes.

"Boss Horada." Kasumi said. _'What a dumb bland name.'_ She secretly thought to herself.

Horada smirks and leans his head towards her. "Well, we got good news Kasumi. Our informants finally found the identity of one of the head members of the Dollars."

"Really?" Kasumi asked.

"That's right." Horada nods his head. He then opens up the desk shelf and takes out an envelope. As he passes it to Kasumi, he said, "At long last, we can finally get our hands on that damn gang."

Kasumi takes the envelope and said to Horada, "I have to admit, I still wonder why we are so obsessed in trying to take down the Dollars."

"Right. You didn't know about our rivalry because you are still our newest member." Horada leans back on his chair and explains to Kasumi. "Three years ago, we the Yellow Scarves were the dominant gang in Ikebukuro after winning the gang war against the Blue Squares."

"Hence our code and password." Kasumi said.

Horada nods his head. "But just a year ago, the Dollars start appearing in this district. This gang has quickly multiply within a year and gaining a huge popularity in the ward of Toshima."

"But sir, I checked out their website and it looks to me like a simple chatroom." Kasumi said.

"Just a simple chatroom?!" Horada yelled, slamming his hands on the armrests. "It may look like a simple chatroom from the outside and on the inside is an underworld gang secretly taking every bit of influence in Ikebukuro and the rest of Toshima we work so hard to dominate! Not to mention, they are the ones behind the attack on one of our hideouts! Three of our members were injured during that attack! We swear to one day avenge our fellow fallen members and crush the Dollars for their actions."

"I see. In understand now." Kasumi said.

"Kasumi, you must swear to me now that you will NEVER visit their chatroom again and swear your absolute loyalty to this gang!" Horada said, pointing a finger at her.

Kasumi stands up and bows before Horada. "I swear, Boss Horada."

"Good." Horada nods her head.

Kasumi sits back down. "You may now see the identity of the head member if you want." Horada said.

The girl nods her head and opens up the envelope. She takes a look at the photo of the boy, causing her to widen her eyes and gapes her mouth open.

Horada cocks an eyebrow. "Something wrong?"

Kasumi closes her mouth and puts the photo back into the envelope. "Nothing." She said to her boss.

"Good. If you ever find this boy…bring him here and we shall break his legs." Horada said smirking, now thinking thoughts of other ways he and his gang could do to make the Dollars pay for their actions.

Kasumi uncomfortable remained silent for a moment before finally saying, "Yes Boss."

"You are dismissed." Horada said. Kasumi gets up, bows before him and leaves the room.

Kasumi then walks down the stairs and the member guarding the entrance opens the door for her. She steps out of the hideout and the door closes behind her. As she walks her way out of the alleyway, she takes out the envelope, opens it and takes a good look at the photo of the person again. The photo shows a boy walking his way down the streets and the image is definitely taken from a hiding spot. But the image of the boy's face looks perfectly clear and Kasumi couldn't believe who it is.

"I don't believe that it's actually you…Masaomi Kida…"

* * *

The next day, Kida sighs as he sat at the bench in a park. He rubs his hands together as the thought of Kasumi still rang inside his head.

"Oh Kasumi…" Kida said, lowering his head. "Why didn't I ask for your telephone number that night?"

Since the encounter with her last night, Kida couldn't stop thinking of her and as he heads back home after his celebratory dinner with his friends, he couldn't become obsessed with her even more when he thought of all the things about her personality. She has a tomboyish look which Kida, as an otaku, really likes. The clothing she wore that night also looks very nice. To Kida, it looks like a clothing jump right out from an action anime and she also seems to be a fan of robots because of the Cherno Alpha figure she bought that. Kida did watch Pacific Rim with Mikado and Anri when it came out in theatres and he enjoyed it because it was a film that Michael Bay **FAILS** in accomplishing with the Transformers films.

It was only one encounter but Kida already seems to be very interested with this girl. And the thought of her makes him both happy and miserable at the same time. Happy because he found a new crush and miserable because he realized that he never had her phone number or any source of communication with her.

Kida then knocks himself on the head repeatedly. "Baka…baka…baka…baka…" Kida said to himself every time he hits himself.

But suddenly, he stops hitting himself when he realizes something. At least he does know her full name.

Kida smiles as he looks up. "Of course! I know her full name! Kasumi Kinomoto!" He said. He then takes out his iPhone and goes to Facebook.

"Please, Oh God please." Kida said. He really really hopes she has an account.

* * *

Meanwhile, at Kasumi's home, Shirley is watching the dishes in the kitchen while Kasumi is sleeping on the couch. Shirley decides to let her sleep since she did come home late last night and she does have very worried eyes. Shirley wondered what happened while she was away. Perhaps she felt guilty for being distant from her mother or perhaps something happened at her night job.

Suddenly, Kasumi's phone, which was placed next to her on the table, rang. The ring was enough to make her wake up. She groans as she groggily opens her eyes and lifts herself up from the couch. She then yawns as sits herself up. She grabs the phone and looks down at it. She widens her eyes and gasped.

"What is it?" Shirley asked, looking at Kasumi through the open frame from the kitchen.

"A friend request." Kasumi said to her.

"Okay." Shirley said before turning back to the sink and washes the dishes. "And by the way, good morning!"

Kasumi sees that the Facebook friend request came from Kida. "That idiot, he managed to find my Facebook account." She said.

She leans back on the couch and thought whether to accept Kida's request. She swore her loyalty to Horada that she will find him and bring him over so that she can avenge her gang. Kasumi may be a juvenile, but she has never injured or brought physical pain to someone before.

Kasumi then thought some more and sighs. 'Come on Kasumi, he's just an acquaintance. Right?' She thought to herself. She then unlocks her phone and accepts Kida's request.

**END OF CHAPTER**


	4. Dollars

_**Chapter 3: Dollars**_

"Wow that was fast! You found a new crush already?" Mikado asked Kida. They and Anri are now sitting together at a nearby café after meeting each other at the park.

"Yup!" Kida nods his head. "And she even accepted my friend request."

"No way!" Mikado laughed. "All that happened in last than 24 hours? Come on!"

"So…she just immediately accepted your request? Just like that?" Anri asked.

"That's right." Kida smiled.

"But…don't you think it's all…suspicious?" Anri asked, now looking very concern.

"Anri, I'm sure she's a nice down-to-earth girl."

"Is she or you just wanted to believe that? Immediately accepting someone as your new crush is a big risk."

"Kida…" Mikado spoke up. "I'm with Anri on this. And we're administrators of a group for saying out loud. I thought you would know this."

Kida sighed. "I…I just need someone who can be at my side."

"Hey guys!"

The three turn their heads and see three people walking over to them. The first person is a girl who wears a black hat, black dress and black shoes. Her name is Erika Karisawa.

The second person is a boy with short dark blonde hair and wears a light blue jacket, black pants, and black shoes. His name is Walker Yumasaki.

The third and last person is the tallest of the group. He wears a black hat, dark blue long-sleeved shirt, light gray pants and black shoes. His name is Kyohei Kadota.

"Hello Erika, Walker, and Kyohei." Anri nods her head to each one.

"Has the party started? Don't tell us you start it without us!" Walker cried.

"Nope, we were waiting for you all! Let's get inside!" Mikado said, gesturing them into the café. Kida, Anri and Mikado get up from their seats.

"Good to see you again Kyohei." Kida said before he and Kyohei gave each other a fist bump.

"Good to see you again too. How have things been for you?" Kyohei asked.

"Umm…let's just say…it's a mixed bag." Kida said, shrugging his shoulders as Mikado, Anri, Erika and Walker enter into the café with a boy named Saburo Togusa opening the doors for them.

"Huh. Tell me more." Kyohei said. The two then heads into the café.

"Welcome guys." Saburo greeted the two as he bows to them.

"Don't do that Saburo, it's so cheesy." Kida said to him.

"What?" Saburo said, getting up. "Isn't this café our place after all?"

"But you're not an employee of this place." Kida replied back as he wraps an arm around Kyohei.

Saburo frowns at Kida with his eyes half-closed. "Uh-huh." He said. After Kida and Kyohei enter inside, Saburo turns around and turns his head around before closing the doors.

Upon entering the café, Kida and Kyohei see that Mikado, Anri, Erika and Walker are already sitting together at a table. Next to them, there are two people working behind the bar table and one woman sitting in front of them. The woman wears a yellow helmet, a black suit, black gloves and black pants.

"Hey Celty." Kida said as he and Kyohei go over and sat next to her. "How have things been for you?"

Celty turns to Kida and Kyohei. She takes out her iPhone and types on it. When she finished typing, she turns the iPhone around and allows Kida and Kyohei to see it. _**'Just peachy.'**_

"Why am I not convinced?" Kyohei asked, placing his elbow on the table and resting his head on his fist.

Celty types another message on her iPhone. _**'Because I never show my face?'**_

The man working behind the bar table laughed and Kida and Kyohei turn their heads to him. "Don't mind my wife. She's still worried over the incident last year." The man said. He has brown hair and wears glasses, a blue tied, a white coat with a white shirt underneath, black pants and black shoes. His name is Shinra Kishitani. He's busy running his wet cloth over a mug trying to get rid of even the most tiniest specks of dirt. He's a neat freak after all.

"You mean the incident which you fight off those bastards who were harassing Mika?" Kida asked Celty.

"And I don't want to be reminded." The employee working behind Shinra said as she sits there writing the account book. Her name is Mika Harima. After Celty saved her from the yellow scarf members which happened a year ago, she has since been working at Shinra's café to make sure she is completely safe from the Yellow Scarves under Celty and Shinra's protection.

Celty types another message on her iPhone and shows it Kida and Kyohei. _**"I'm just worried that the gang they may be belong to never forgotten that incident."**_

"Come on Celty, it happened a year ago. People would move on by now." Kida said.

"But there are some things that people can never forget, Kida." Kyohei said and Kida turns his head to his friend.

"Look, I'm sure we are safe. That incident was completely an act of self-defense. We do not want to attack anybody on purpose. We are not a gang after all." Kida assured.

"You're right Kida." Mikado said. "We're not a gang. We're just a group of friends wanting to help people out."

Kida turns around and exclaims happily, "Right you are Mikado! Well said! Let me treat you a drink!" Kida turns back to Shinra and said, "Give me two cups of root beer Shinra!"

Mikado laughed. He then looks around the bar and watches Anri chatting with Erika, Walker and Saburo and Kida, Kyohei and Celty sitting together in front of Shinra. Mikado always loves this atmosphere. Before he came to Ikebukuro, he was just a normal boy from a rural village with only a hundred dollars in his pocket.

The only people he can communicate are people on the Internet and dreams of creating his own group of friends. That's why he created Dollars. Originally, only Kida and Anri joined the group. One time, he turned on the TV and watched the news showing a story about a building having its walls vandalized by a gang known as the Yellow Scarves. He then goes online and talks to Kida and Anri about the incident and how he feels sympathetic for the people who own the building and wish that there was some way he could help them out.

Then, the next day, to his surprise, when he watched the news, he learned that the same building that was vandalized has been cleaned up by Kida and Anri and the owners of the building thank them for their help. This made Mikado very happy and tells Kida and Anri that he would like to meet them in Ikebukuro. Since then, he has moved to the district and studied in the same school as the two and they invite other friends they made along the way to join their club as well.

Mikado turns his head to see Kida walking over to him with two cups of root beer in his hands. Mikado moves to the side to allow Kida to sit next to him.

Kida places the two cups in front of them. "Here ya go! Two cups of root beer for the two of us!" Kida smirks.

"Thanks." Mikado said as the two each take a cup. He turns to Kida. "Kida, whatever happens, you can always count on me…and the rest of us."

Kida smiles back at him and nods his head. "Thanks." The two friends make a toast to each other before drinking their root beer.

* * *

_**Two days later…**_

Kasumi is in the bathroom, putting on her jacket. She then takes a comb and combs her hair. Then, there was a knock on the door.

"Come in." Kasumi said while still looking herself at the mirror. The door opens and Shirley enters into the bathroom.

"So…you're already going to meet up with this new friend of yours." Shirley said smiling, placing her hands behind her back.

"It's not a date. Just a get-to-know-each-other thing." Kasumi said, putting down her comb.

"Which is called a date." Shirley points out. Kasumi turns to her frowning.

"I told you before Shirley. I'm not interested in finding a boyfriend right now." Kasumi said.

"Alright alright." Shirley nods her head. She then places her hand on Kasumi's shoulder. "Kasumi…don't you ever feel miserable or think you are hopeless alright? Remember the day you first met me and help me by giving me a place to stay?"

Kasumi nods her head and smiles at Shirley. "I've never forgotten that day."

"Good." Shirley said. "You have a good heart Kasumi. So please…don't ever get yourself into trouble." Shirley then proceeds to give Kasumi a warm embrace, who then hugs her back.

The two break away from their hug. "I'll be fine Shirley." Kasumi assured. "Take care of the house while I'm gone. I'll be back in a couple of hours."

"Sure."

* * *

Kida sat at a different cafeteria somewhere else in Ikebukuro. He rubs his hands together, waiting patiently for Kasumi to come.

"Masaomi Kida?" A voice said.

Kida widens his eyes and gasps. He smiles and turns around, seeing a familiar red-headed girl, with her hands stuffed in her pockets.

"Kasumi Kinomoto?" Kida said.

Kasumi smiles as she nods her head. "Good to see you again, Masaomi Kida."

**END OF CHAPTER**


	5. The Second Meeting

_**Chapter 4: The Second Meeting**_

"Mind if I sit down?" Kasumi asked.

"Of course." Kida said, gesturing Kasumi to the empty seat in front of him. Kasumi then takes the chair and sits down.

"So um…how have you been?" Kida asked.

Kasumi hesitates for a moment before awkwardly smiling at him and replied, "Peachy."

"Good." Kida nods his head. "You need something to drink. I can order now."

"Sure. I'll just have an iced mocha."

"Cool! Me too! I'll order right away. Be right back!" Kida then gets off of his chair and walks to the counter.

Kasumi watched as he walks away. She then turns her head away and sighed. Kida doesn't seem like a bad person to her at all. But then again, looks can be deceiving since he is one of the head members of Dollars after all. Before the start of her assignment, she swore to herself that she will never get emotionally close with Kida. She guessed the less she knows about him, the lesser guilt she will have when she eventually turns him over to Horada.

Kasumi remembers the day she joins the Yellow Scarves. A year ago, due to her poor conduct in high school, she decides to dropout from her studies and after having a fight with her mother, she leaves her hometown and moved to Ikebukuro. Upon arriving, she managed to find an apartment she can afford and lived on her own. But after a week, she felt really lonely and wished for some company. But one night however, she bumped into Shirley Fenette. She learns that she came all the way from England to Japan to study at a local university she has been accepted to but she couldn't find a place to stay. Kasumi, knowing that she can't let Shirley stay stranded in Tokyo, decided to allow her to live in her apartment.

Kasumi smiled a bit as she rests her arms on the table. It turned out to be a great idea in the end because not only she never feels lonely again but she also finally has someone she can share her feelings with. If only her mother could be the same…

"Kasumi?"

Kasumi turns her head back to the front and sees Kida holding two cups of mocha in his hands. Kida smiles at her as he sits down and places the cups on the table. He takes one cup and passes the other to Kasumi.

"Thanks." Kasumi said.

"What's bothering you earlier?"

"Nothing."

"Kasumi…I know it's only been four days but, I'm glad you accepted my friend request and take this night to get to know each other. Sorry if things are rushed."

Kasumi smiles at Kida. "Oh no, it's okay. I thought you were a nice guy so I accepted your request."

Kida's smile widens. _'She thought I'm nice? Sweet!'_ He thought.

Kasumi cocks an eyebrow as she notices the goofy smile on Kida's face right now. "Kida?" She asked.

"Huh?" Kida snaps out of his thoughts and his smile vanished. He shakes his head. "Sorry." He said apologetically as he grabs his cup of mocha and drinks it. Kasumi also grabs her cup and drinks her mocha and the two stare at each other as they do so.

When the two stop sipping their drinks and put down their cups, Kasumi decides to ask Kida another question.

"So…Kida? Do you have other friends?" Kasumi asked.

"Yes I do." Kida nods his head. "What about you?"

"I have one friend."

"Interesting."

"What about you? How many friends do you have?"

"Well, more than two."

"You mean like a group of seven?"

"No there's…" Kida holds up his hands and counts the number of friends he has with his fingers. "Nine of them."

Kasumi narrows her eyes. _'There are only nine members in Dollars? Strange. I expected more than ten.' _She thought to herself. She looks back at Kida.

"Who do you see as your big brother in the group?"

Kida laughed. "Big brother?"

"Yeah." Kasumi chuckled. "I mean…who's the leader of your group of friends?"

"Oh no…we all see each other as friends and individuals. There are no leaders."

Kasumi's smile vanished. _'Really, there are no leaders?'_

"Is there something wrong?" Kida asked, noticing Kasumi's frown.

Kasumi smiles at Kida and shakes her head. "Nothing wrong."

"Have you ever been in a group?" Kida asked.

"Well…" Kasumi put her elbows on the table and rubs her hands. "I don't know. It's been a long time and usually, I want to forget my past school life."

Kida's smile disappears as he hears that. "Sorry. I'm guessing it was harsh, wasn't it?" Kasumi remained silent and simply nods her head.

"To be fair, I'm not always the brightest guy either." Kida said to her. "I used to be a gang member but everything changed when I got betrayed by my 'so-called friends'. The police locked me up for a while but my parents bailed me out. That incident changed my life forever and since then, I never want to be in a bad company ever again. I was alone and depressed for a while so I go on the Internet to look for friends who I can trust. Eventually I came across the Dollars. They were all very nice to me and because of them; I've became a better person than I was before."

Kasumi widens her eyes and gapes for mouth open. _'He's just like me.'_ She thought.

Kida cocks an eyebrow. "Sorry for beating a dead horse but…are you-"

"Yes." Kasumi quickly answered and nods her head. She looks up at Kida and laughs. "I'm fine."

"You're acting strange tonight." Kida said. The two simply laughed and continue drinking their mocha.

* * *

_**11:45 PM…**_

When she arrived back to her apartment, she unlocks the door to her home and opens it. She then turns on the lights and sees Shirley sleeping soundly on the couch. Kasumi looks around and sees that the entire place is neat and clean. Shirley has been cleaning the house while she was away and now she's extremely exhausted.

Kasumi then closes the door behind her and locks it. She walks over to Shirley and smiles at her. She takes the blanket on the floor and puts it over her body.

"Goodnight Shirley." She said. "I wished I can tell you more how much fun I had with my meeting with Kida."

She then turns on the lamp next to the couch and walks back to the door to turn off the lights. She then removes her boots and heads to her room. After taking some lean clothes from her cupboard, she heads into the bathroom.

After she finished taking a shower, she puts on her new clothes, turns off the lights in her bathroom and lies down on her bed.

As Kasumi places her hands on the back of her head, she starts thinking of her meeting with Kida. She has learnt that Kida is exactly like her and that the Dollars is only made up of nine people. But then she internally slaps herself. Perhaps Kida may be lying to her that his group only has nine people so she will only confirm after she meets his friends for the first time. And also, she can't get too emotional with Kida since her job is to bring Kida to Horada after all.

Still, she cannot deny that she now has some level of connection to Kida after their meeting. She sighed internally. Despite her connection with him, she's still a member of the Yellow Scarves. She can't let her emotions get in her assignment and she has no intention of letting that happen.

**END OF CHAPTER**


	6. Deception

_**Chapter 5: Deception**_

_**The next day…**_

Kida stretches his arms after he rose up from his bed. He removes the blanket from his body and heads to his cupboard. After getting a new set of clothes, he closes the cupboard and heads to the bathroom.

After a five minute shower, he dries himself, puts on his new clothes and steps out of the bathroom. As he does, his cellphone which he placed on his desk rang. Kida goes over to it and answers it.

"Hello?" Kida said.

"Hey Kida." Mikado's voice said from the other side of the phone.

"Mikado, what's up?" Kida asked.

"Just want to check up on you. How's your date with Kasumi last night?"

"Oh it was great. Everything went well. Kasumi seems like a fine girl. She acts strange at times but…that's why I like her." Kida said.

"Kida, remember what Anri said. She may act normal, but you can't be too sure."

Kida paused for a moment before saying, "I'll be fine Mikado."

"I just don't want you to get yourself into any trouble, that's all."

Kida smiled and said, "Alright. Bye, Mikado."

"Goodbye." Mikado replied. Kida then hangs up the phone and places it back on his desk.

* * *

"Open up! Here comes the bullet train! Choo choo!"

Kasumi watches Shirley inches the spoon filled with a piece of pudding towards her face. When it's near her, Kasumi opens her mouth and Shirley places the pudding into it. Kasumi then closes her mouth and eats the pudding. Shirley then gently removes the now empty spoon from her mouth.

"How does my pudding taste?" Shirley asked.

Kasumi swallows it and replied, "Taste good."

Shirley smiled. "Thank you. There's more where that came from." She then dips another piece of pudding with her spoon. Shirley turns back to Kasumi and sees the frown on her face.

"What's bothering you?" Shirley asked in concern.

Kasumi turns to Shirley and said, "Nah it's okay. Everything's fine."

"How was that date last night? Did everything go well?"

"Oh it was fine and…wait." Kasumi narrows her eyes. "You said date, didn't you?"

Shirley smiles sheepishly and shrugged. "Sorry, can't help it?" She said, acting innocently.

Kasumi gave Shirley a slight push on her friend's shoulder and Shirley laughed. "But yeah…everything went well. Nothing special. Just getting to know each other." Kasumi said.

"That's good to know." Shirley said. "So how was he like?"

"Oh I think he's alright. He seems pretty down-to-earth."

"Do you think I'll have a chance to meet him?"

Kasumi narrows her eyes for a minute. "Not sure." She said while shaking her head. Kasumi can foresee that if Shirley were to meet Kida, she will never see him again afterwards when her gang gets rid of him and this will lead to Shirley questioning her where has he gone to.

"Awww...why not?" Shirley asked, sounding disappointed.

Kasumi frowns and swifts her eyes away, looking unsure. "Well..." Suddenly, Kasumi's cellphone rang from inside her pocket. She sighs in relief. She then takes out her cellphone from her pocket and sees the name displayed on her phone screen.

'_Unknown Number'_

"Excuse me for a while." Kasumi said to Shirley. She quickly gets up from her chair and Shirley watches as Kasumi heads to her room. Shirley frowns as she places her right elbow onto the table and rests her head on her hand.

'_Why does she act so suspicious at times?'_

* * *

When Kasumi closes the door behind her, she sits down on her bed and answers her phone.

"Hello?" She said.

"Kasumi, have you gotten any new information on the Dollars member?"

Kasumi paused for a moment to think how she will respond. What should she tell them? Tell them that the Dollars is only made up of nine people? She's pretty sure Horada won't buy that. And besides, she hasn't fully confirmed that yet. She shifts her eyes back to her phone and responds.

"Not yet. But I'm close. I need more time."

"Very well. But the boss doesn't want to keep waiting."

"I know. But…how about this? Give me two weeks and I'll not only bring the guy in the photo…but also the head of Dollars?"

The voice gasped at the other end of the line. "Really? Bringing the head of Dollars in two weeks?"

"Yes." Kasumi said.

"Very well. The boss will love the sound of that." The voice said. "But you better keep your promise."

"I promise." She nods her head. The call ends and Kasumi hangs up her phone. She's right about one thing. Now that she has personal contact with Kida, she will continue building a relationship with him until he can introduce her to the other Dollars, including possibly, their leader.

She wants to get this done quick, not just because she doesn't want to keep Horada waiting but the sooner she gets it done, the less emotional it will be for her when she gives up Kida.

* * *

"How was she? Was she beautiful?" Erika asked Kida as they and Celty sat together in the bar.

"She was more on the tomboyish side. And she happens to be an otaku." Kida said. Erika gasped.

"Does she like Yaoi?" Erika asked, her eyes now widen in excitement.

"Huh?" Kida asked, arching an eyebrow. "Why would I ask a question like that?"

"Well, what kind of genres she likes then?" Erika said, her eyes now lowered in slight disappointment.

"Mecha and sci-fi." Kida said.

"Ugh." Erika snorted and frowns. "Nerd."

"Pot calls the kettle black. Aren't you a nerd too since you enjoy reading light novels?" Kida said.

Erika growled angrily at Kida after he said that. Kida laughed and continue saying, "But yeah, she's an otaku, like me. And she's quite funny at times."

Celty then taps Kida's shoulder and he turns to her. Celty types a message on her iPhone. When she's done, she shows it to him.

"_**Can I share with you a story?"**_

"Umm, sure." Kida said. Celty then types another message on her iPhone. After a few minutes, she shows it to Kida and Erika.

"When I was your age, I met a guy whom I thought was my Prince Charming. He looked handsome and I led myself to believe it was love at first sight. Occasionally, he would ask me for money. I don't know why but I led myself to trust him and gave him 8000 yen every time he asked me that question."

"8000 yen?! Are you nuts?! I could use that money to buy ten light novels!" Erika cried.

"What happened next?" Kida asked. Celty types another message on her iPhone. When she's done, she shows it to Kida and Erika.

"_**But one day, I heard news that he got himself into a fight and gets hospitalized. When I arrived at the hospital and visit his ward, two other women entered as well. That's when I realized, he has a cheating affair with three other women and he actually got his bruises from a man who is the boyfriend of another woman he's trying to cheat while he was gambling with my and the other women's money!"**_

"That's disgusting!" Kida cried.

"But at least he got what he deserves in the end!" Erika added, narrowing her eyes.

Celty types another message on her iPhone. When she finished typing, she shows it to Kida and Erika.

"_**Kida, what I'm saying is that you have to be careful who you date. She may look and act like the perfect match for you, but looks are deceiving."**_

Kida narrows his eyes and nods his head. "I understand, Celty."

"Yeah Kida! It's just like the story of Frozen!" Erika said to her friend. "Never trust royal men!" She then turns back to Celty. "So what happens next? Can we at least know the true ending to all of this? Please?" She asked pleadingly.

Celty shook her head in amusement and types another message on her iPhone. She then shows it to Kida and Erika.

"_**After that incident, I grew depressed for one whole month and I would often cry, day and night. That is until I met my ex-classmate Shinra. Shinra found me crying at the park one night and he offer me to come to his home. When I arrived at his home, I told him what happened. But Shinra comforted me, tells me that everything will be alright. And eventually…you know what happens next."**_

"You and Shinra got together." Kida said with a smirk.

"Awwww! That's so sweet! A true love story!" Erika said dreamily as she clasps her hands together, closes her eyes and makes a wide goofy smile.

Kida laughed for a while before turning back to the front and clasps his hands together. He frowns as he thought to himself. Mikado, Anri and Celty have all told him to be careful around Kasumi. But part of him still thinks that Kasumi isn't a bad person.

'_She can be trusted, right?'_

**END OF CHAPTER**


	7. Hanging Out

_**Chapter 6: Hanging Out**_

The next day, Kasumi waits by sitting on the ledge of a fountain as it sprays elegant and cooling sprinkles of water. She pulls a strand of hair away from her eyes and looks down at her watch as she waits patiently for Kida to arrive. This is their second meeting and it only happened two days after the last, which made Kasumi feel concern a bit. If she keeps making these dates just between a few days, Kida will become suspicious. But then again, she is surprised that Kida accepts her invitation, making her think that he might be an idiot. Still, she's glad that he did accept it because she promised her gang that she will get the assignment done in two weeks.

Suddenly, her thoughts are interrupted by a familiar voice.

"Kasumi!"

Kasumi turns her head and sees Kida walking over to her while waving his hand. Kasumi smiles as she sees him and waves back at him.

"Hello Kida." Kasumi greeted. But then she soon noticed that there are two people following him from behind. She drops her jaw in shock. She wanted to be with Kida but she didn't expect two more will be joining in their meeting!

"Umm, Kasumi? Don't mind if I bring my friends along with me?" Kida asked sheepishly, gesturing to Mikado and Anri, who both smile at Kasumi.

Kasumi sighs before getting up. "Sure. Why not?" She said.

Mikado smiles at Kasumi as he extends out his hand. "Hi, nice to meet you. I'm Mikado Ryugamine." He introduces himself.

"Nice to meet you too. I'm Kasumi Kinomoto." Kasumi said, smiling back at him. After the two teenagers remove their hands from each other, Anri steps forward to Kasumi.

"Hello. I'm Anri Sonohara." Anri greeted with a smile.

"Nice to meet you Anri." Kasumi said to her and the two shake hands.

After the two remove their hands as well, Kasumi turns to Kida. "So Kida, mind telling me why these two are with us?"

Kida chuckled as he scratches the back of his head. "Yeah, well…"

_**One hour ago…**_

_After putting on the clothes he wants to wear for his second date with Kasumi, Kida closes the cupboard and goes over to his room table to grab his cellphone. He's surprised that not only Kasumi wants to meet him again in two days, but this time she's the one making the arrangement._

_He then leaves his room and walks to the door of his apartment. He opens it up and to his surprise; he sees Mikado and Anri standing at the doorway._

"_Oh." Anri said as she lowers her fist. "I was about to knock on the door." She chuckled._

"_Guys? What are you two doing here?" Kida asked._

"_I thought we are going out together today." Mikado said. He then narrows his eyes. "You forgot, didn't you?" _

"_Oh um…" Kida said nervously, scratching the back of his head and looking down at the floor. Then, he sighs, lowers his arm and said lamely, "Yeah. I forgot."_

"And where are you going now?" Mikado asked, raising an eyebrow and placing his hands on his hips.

"_I'm going on another date with Kasumi."_

"_Another date in two days?!" Anri said, widening her eyes in shock._

"_Kida, I think Anri and I really need to meet this Kasumi." Mikado said._

"_What?!" Kida cried in shock. "No! I don't think she's ready to meet you guys yet!"_

_Anri then goes over to Kida's right side and wraps her arm around his right arm. "Since we are supposed to be going out together today, I think it's okay if Kasumi can join us as well, don't you think? And I'm not going to let go of you until you agree we can meet her."_

"_Me too." Mikado said as he goes over to Kida on the left and wraps his arm around his left arm._

_Kida turns to Anri, then to Mikado. Then he lets out another sigh and hangs his head. "Okay…"_

"And that's what happened." Kida said.

"Ooookay." Kasumi replied.

"Kasumi?" Mikado spoke up. Kasumi turns to him. "Is there any particular place you want to visit?"

"We can go together." Anri added.

Kasumi looks up and clasps her hands together. "Well…"

* * *

"WOOOOOHHHHHHOOOOO!"

Kasumi and Kida yelled in unison as the roller coaster, they, Mikado and Anri they are riding on is rolling down the tall drop. The four are currently at Tokyo Dome City in Bunkyo, Tokyo which they are currently riding on their landmark roller coaster ride. All four are riding on the ride with their eyes wide open. Kasumi and Kida are yelling in thrill and excitement while Mikado and Anri sat in the back screaming in horror as huge gusts of wind past through their faces and hair.

"HELP ME!" Mikado screamed in terror.

"I WANT TO GET OUT OF THIS THING!" Anri screamed as well.

The ride then reach the end of the drop and the rambling dies down. The roller coaster then moves slowly to the walkway and everyone stay in their seats until the ride comes to a complete stop. When it does, the four remove their seat belts and exit the roller coaster.

"That was awesome!" Kida said to Kasumi as he holds up his open hand.

"Haha!" Kasumi laughed as she and Kida gave each other a high-five. Kida turns to Mikado and Anri.

"Don't you guys ag…ree?" Kida's smile vanished and looks puzzled as Mikado and Anri both looked shell shocked. Anri still has tears welled up in her eyes.

Kasumi scratches the top of his head, looking sheepishly. "I guess we'll go somewhere less terrifying."

* * *

The four decide to go to a nearby McDonald's restaurant to have their lunch. All four are now sipping their drinks with crumpled burger wrappers pushed to the side. The four sucked up the last of their drinks and they all shiver and let out long, borderline-orgasmic moans.

All four take deep breaths and sigh. "Man, that was good." Mikado said.

"Yup, that cheeseburger I ate hits the spot." Kida said.

"I'm worried that I have to exercise a lot tomorrow after this meal." Anri said, lowering her head.

"Don't worry Anri. You won't grow fat. You never do." Kida said to her.

"So what do you guys want to do next?" Mikado asked. "Go to an arcade?"

"No." Anri shakes her head. "I'm horrible at them."

"How about a movie?" Mikado suggested next.

"Nah." Kida shakes his head. "Nothing interesting is showing right now."

"Or how about we go to the manga store?" Mikado said.

"Hmmm, okay." Kida said, now nodding his head.

"Yeah, I guess that's a good idea after that ride." Anri added.

Kasumi chuckled and the three turn their heads to her. "Oh nothing. It's just that, it's nice to see all interacting with each other very well. Like a group."

"Yeah. We're very close, you see." Mikado said to Kasumi smiling.

"So I heard from Kida that you call yourselves 'Dollars' right?" Kasumi asked.

"Yes. I was the one who came up with it. The name 'Dollars' started out as a joke but as our group expands, the name is now stuck in my head." Mikado explained.

"I see."

"Have you ever been in a group of friends, Kasumi?" Anri asked.

Kasumi shakes her head. "I can't remember. It's been a year since I drop out from school."

"Do you have a family then?" Mikado asked.

"I have a mother."

"Where is she?" Kida asked.

"Hiroshima." Kasumi replied.

"Do you ever thought about her?" Anri asked.

Kasumi shrugged. "After I drop out from school, me and my mother got into tons of fights until eventually, I decide to leave my hometown and never thought about going back." She said.

"But she is still your mother. I'm sure she's feeling very lonely without you." Kida said.

"I don't think so. She's a tough woman. I'm sure she can live on her own." Kasumi said, folding her arms.

The four then have an awkward moment of silence. Mikado then decides to break the silence by speaking up.

"So, you guys ready to go to the manga store?"

"Sure." Kida said, nodding his head. The four then get up from their seats and walk their way out of the restaurant.

As they walk, Anri turns to Kasumi and said to her, "Kasumi?" Kasumi turns her head to Anri. "I know you have issues with your mother, but aren't you at least still curious to know what's happening to your mother back at your hometown?"

Kasumi stuffs her hands into her pockets. "I got to have a reason for that." She replied.

The four then walk together quietly and make their way to the manga store.

* * *

Later that night, Kasumi, Kida, Mikado and Anri walk out of the shopping mall, with Kasumi and Kida each carrying a bag filled with the manga they have bought from the store.

Kasumi then turns to Kida, Mikado and Anri and bowed. "Thank you very much you guys."

"Why are you thanking us? We should be thanking you because you are the one who organized this." Kida said smiling.

"I know. But I want to thank you guys as well because it's been a long time since I hang out with more than one friend." Kasumi smiled.

"You're very welcome!" Anri said, smiling back and bowed.

"I hope we can do this again soon." Mikado added.

Kasumi nods her head. "I can go back home on my own by the subway train. Thanks again guys."

"No problem. And thanks for this great day out." Kida said, nodding his head back.

Kasumi lets out a sigh and turns around. Kida, Mikado and Anri watch as she walks away and makes her way to the train station to take a ride home.

Mikado turns to Kida. "I guess I was wrong Kida. Kasumi seems pretty okay." He said.

Kida turns to Mikado and smirked. "See? I told you she's nice."

Anri sighs sympathetically. "I know she doesn't like her mother but…she still looks very troubled without her, don't you think?"

Kida stuffs his hands into his pockets as he turns back to the front, watching Kasumi. "Yeah…she is." If only there was some way he can help her.

**END OF CHAPTER**


	8. Mixed Thoughts

_**Chapter 7: Mixed Thoughts**_

Kasumi returns home to see Shirley coming out of the kitchen holding a tray of onigiri.

"Hey Kasumi, welcome home!" Shirley greeted with a smile as she extends out the tray she's holding. "Your favorite! Chicken onigiri!"

"Thank you." Kasumi said lamely as she gently places down the bag of manga on the floor and grabs an onigiri and goes over to the couch. She sits down on the couch and lets out a heavy sigh.

"How did your second date go?" Shirley asked as she goes over to her friend and sits next to her.

"Shirley…am I getting too emotional?" Kasumi asked while looking up at the fan spinning around in circles attached to the ceiling.

Shirley cocked an eyebrow. "What are you talking about?"

"I met him and his friends today and…" Kasumi paused for a moment to let out another deep sigh. "I have so much fun with them."

A huge smile immediately appears on Shirley's face and she clasps her hands gleefully. "That's fantastic Kasumi! You finally made some new friends! That is so adorable."

"That's the problem!" Kasumi raised her voice as she lifts down her head back straight and turns to Shirley, whose smile has vanished and her eyes snap open. "I…I…" Kasumi places her hand on her chest and takes in a few breaths of air. After regaining her composure, she calms down and said to Shirley, "I never had this feeling in a long time."

Kasumi lowers her head frowning. Shirley leans over to her friend and gave an affectionate pat on her back. "There's nothing to be ashamed about, Kasumi. It's always great to once again have the feeling of fun which you never had in a long time."

Kasumi remained in awkward silence for a few seconds before placing the onigiri on the metal tray along with the others. "You know what? I'm not hungry anyway. Save them for tomorrow's breakfast. I want to go to my room now." She said. With that, she immediately gets up and heads to her room. She opens the door and when she enters, she closes the door behind her.

* * *

Kasumi removes her jacket and tosses it aside on the floor. She slumps onto her bed and lets out a frustrated groan. She takes her pillow and gently rests her head on it. With the exception of the blowing of the air conditioner, the room was filled with silence.

She couldn't believe she is only on her second date with Kida and she already felt that she's getting even more emotionally closer with him. Today, she knows about his friends and how much they care for him and each other, which only further pains her how his friends would react when he's found dead.

Still, she couldn't help but feel a sense of delight hanging out with more than one person today. It's definitely a feeling she doesn't have in a while. Back in her hometown of Hiroshima, she was a loner. Well, she wasn't always a loner. She told Mikado she has a mother. But she actually also had a father, once. She used to be happy having both parents by her side but when she and her mother discovered her father gotten into gambling issues and has been secretly taking money away from them without their permission, things turn for the worse. Her father then left and is never seen again after the revelation. Kasumi's entire life was in shambles after this. She and her mother lost a huge sum of money and Kasumi heavily suffers from emotional stress afterwards.

Whenever she goes to school in a depressing state, she noticed people would either quietly talk things about her behind her back or in a worst case scenario, walk up to her and provoke her. When the latter case happens, she will respond violently, preferring giving the person a black eye. After getting into a few more fights, Kasumi decides to dropout from school, much to her mother's anger. Some of her old friends also don't think of hanging out with her anymore because who in the right mind would be friends with a living time-bomb?

But then, Kasumi gets to hang out with Kida and his friends today and it was definitely refreshing to know how it's like going out with more than one person again. She doesn't know when was the last time she felt truly happy since her father left her life.

Kasumi then punches her pillow angrily and slaps herself internally. No. She can't let that experience penetrate her icy shell. As much as it pains her to do so, she has to wipe her memories of Kida, Mikado and Anri off. Especially since now she finally knows the leader of the Dollars is Mikado Ryugamine.

Now the next objective is try to convince them to show her the location of the Dollars' hideout. If she can get that information, she can finally complete her assignment given by Horada and she hopes she can make it quick.

* * *

_**Three days later…**_

'_Ladies and gentlemen, the train has arrived at Hiroshima station. Please grab your belongings and leave the train in an orderly manner. Thank you for riding with us! We hope to serve you again!'_

Kida, Mikado and Anri step out of the shinkansen after taking their bags. It was a long ride from Tokyo to Hiroshima but it was also enjoyable and comfortable. During their ride, they passed through hills, vast forests and numerous rivers which amazed them, making their 4 hour trip between both cities worthwhile.

"Whoo! Here we are! Hiroshima!" Kida yelled happily as he spreads out his arms. His yell and display does cause some passers-by to turn their heads at him.

"I sure hope the info Celty and Shinra provide us is accurate." Mikado said, taking out a piece of paper which has an address written on it. "I don't want to spend 4 hours travelling all the way here only to go around the city aimlessly."

"I'm sure it is." Anri said to him. "Celty and Shinra are expert hackers after all."

Kida turns to the two and stuffs his hands into his pockets. "Come on guys. Let's get down to finding this place. We got a person to cheer up." He said.

Mikado nods his head and adds, "And also find a gift for Shinra in the process."

Kida turns to the front and the three make their way out of the station. They walk out of the station and walk through the city while following the directions Celty and Shinra provided them. The city is definitely less crowded than Ikebukuro and the rest of Tokyo but it still looks vast and beautiful. The city does have a different personality. The buildings are tall, there is still plenty of traffic, the streets are filled with people, and they even pass by and get a nice view of the Hiroshima Castle. It's hard to imagine this is the same city that was nearly destroyed by an atomic bomb many decades ago.

Eventually, the three find themselves arriving at a residential apartment. They walk up the stairs and arrived at the third floor. They walk down the corridors and stop at the fourth nearest door to the stairway.

Mikado takes a deep breath and knocks on the wooden door. The three patiently wait outside for ten seconds before the door opens up, revealing a woman with long black hair and has the same blue eyes as Kasumi's.

"Hello, may I help you three?" The woman asked.

"Ma'am, are you Kasumi Kinomoto's mother?" Mikado asked.

The woman widens her eyes, surprised that the three know her daughter. "Y-yes." She nods her head nervously. "Who are you three?"

"Let's just say…we're Kasumi's friends." Anri replied, rubbing the back of her neck.

"Ma'am." Kida spoke up. He paused for a moment before saying what the three has come here to do. "We are wondering if you would like to see your daughter again."

The woman gasped. "You know where my daughter is? Can I see her?"

Mikado smiles and nods his head. "We came to ask you to come with us to Ikebukuro."

**END OF CHAPTER**


	9. Bitter Reunion

**Darren: *Looks at the calendar* Wow…this chapter took longer as expected. *Sigh* But at least it's up now. Enjoy!**

_**Chapter 8: Bitter Reunion**_

_**Two Days Later…**_

Kasumi lets out a huge yawn as she walks out of her room with her hair messed up. Shirley turns to her now awaken friend while pouring tea into two cups placed on the dining table.

"Good morning Kasumi! Or as they say in Japan, ohayo Kasumi!" Shirley greeted.

"Ohayo." Kasumi deadpanned while looking back at Shirley with baggy eyes. She then stops for a moment to rub her eyes, trying to make herself fully awake.

"What's wrong? Didn't slept well?" Shirley asked.

"Perhaps." Kasumi replied. She then stretches out her deltoids and back muscles, causing her to let out an irrepressible moan.

"Oh Kasumi!" Shirley said as she puts down her teapot on the table. "Before I forget, you got a message from Kida-chan!"

Kasumi gasps as she drops her arms and her cheeks blushed crimson. "Since when the heck did you started referring him as 'chan'?!" She cried.

"Because he clearly likes you and you have gone out with him for two times now." Shirley smirked as she tilts her head to the side.

"Uggghhhh…" Kasumi groans as she walks over to the dining table and grabs her phone. "Please don't EVER read my phone messages again." She said, narrowing her eyes at Shirley. Shirley shrugs and smiles sheepishly at her.

Kasumi looks at her smartphone, unlocks it and reads the Facebook message that Kida has sent her. Immediately as she reads the message, her eyes widen in surprise.

'_Hey Kasumi! You've invited me to a date twice in a row now. Now's my turn. Meet me at Sunshine Café located at 8-15-1 Ikebukuro, Toshima-ku, Tokyo today by 2 pm. See you soon!'_

A small smirk appears on her face and she turns off her phone after reading it. She puts it into her pocket and thought happily, _'What do you know? It's like he's doing the job for me now.'_

* * *

Hours later, Kasumi walks down the streets of Ikebukuro with her hands stuffed in her pockets, following the address Kida has given her. As she strokes her hair away from her eyes as the wind blows through her hair and jacket, she does internally wonders why Kida would suddenly ask her out on a date. She is grateful that Kida is now showing more trust towards her by personally asking her out but she still wonders his true reason of asking her out. Does he have more questions to ask her? And if yes, what kind of questions?

Kasumi sighs and shakes her head. Perhaps she shouldn't grow too suspicious. After all, from what she has seen from Kida, he seems alright and is still oblivious of her true activities.

She finds the address that Kida has given her and she sees a simple café in front of her. She goes over to it and looks up at the signboard which does say 'Sunshine Café'.

She then looks down at the entrance in front of her and was about to extend her hand to grab the door handle but suddenly, it opens up, revealing Saburo bowing down to her.

"Welcome lady. How may I serve you?" Saburo said as he looks up at Kasumi, smiling. Kasumi just blink her eyes a few times, looking confused.

"Ummm…" She said. But suddenly, Erika appears behind Saburo, grabs him by the back of his collar, pulls him up and away from Kasumi.

Erika then said to Saburo with her eyes narrowed, "Don't frighten our guest Saburo, especially when she's not familiar with anyone of us yet!"

"Right. Sorry." Saburo said to Erika, smiling sheepishly. Erika turns to Kasumi and smiles at her.

"Hi! You must be Kasumi Kinomoto! Masaomi Kida told us all about you!" Erika greeted. "I'm Erika Karisawa."

"Oh. Nice to meet you." Kasumi said to Erika. Erika extends out her hand. Kasumi grabs it, shakes her hand and Erika bows down to her.

"Kasumi! You arrived earlier than us!" Kasumi turns around and sees Kida, Mikado and Anri walking over to her.

"Hey guys." Kasumi said as she stuffs her hands into her pockets. "Ready for our third date, Kida?"

Kida nods his head. "Sure." Kida then gestures Kasumi into the café and everyone enters.

Kasumi looks around the café while Kida, Mikado and Anri go over to their usual table. "So…what exactly is this place?" Kasumi asked. "I mean, there's got to be a reason you brought me here for our date, Kida."

"This is Sunshine Café." Erika answered for her as she walks pass her, grabs a chair that's facing the bar counter and sits down. "And it also serves as the official meeting place of our group, the Dollars!"

Kasumi gapes her mouth open. She has finally found the Dollars hideout. And not only that, she realized that the other members of the Dollars are just…normal people. None of them were holding any sort of weapon for self-defending. They really are just civilians. Kida was right. The Dollars isn't a gang at all, just a normal group of friends.

Just then, Mika, wearing an apron around her casual clothing, comes out of the storeroom and stands behind the bar counter. She sees Kasumi and a big smile appears on her face.

"Hello there. I rarely see any new faces in this café." Mika said to Kasumi and as she turns to her, she gave a small chuckle. "I'm Mika Harima."

Kasumi smiles at her. "Nice to meet you Mika. I'm Kasumi Kinomoto." She introduced herself and the two girls bow to each other.

"Don't just stand there, take a seat!" Erika said to Kasumi as she pats on the chair next to hers.

Kasumi then goes over to the chair and sits down, sitting next to Erika.

Meanwhile, Kida, Mikado and Anri huddle each other. "So how do you think we should introduce Kasumi to her?" Kida asked his friends softly.

"What concerns me more is how will she react?" Mikado whispered.

There was a brief silence among the three until Anri speaks up, "Well, it's better than never at all, right? The longer they stay distant; the more unlikely they'll meet each other under their own circumstances."

The three nod their heads and Kasumi said to them from her seat, "Hey there! What are you guys talking about?"

Kidaq, Mikado and Anri turn to her and smile innocently. "Nothing really important." They said in unison with awkward smiles.

Kasumi and Erika laugh as Mika walks over and places two cups of mocha next to them. The two then take their cups and Erika said to Mika, "Thanks!"

Kida turns to Mikado and Anri, who both gesture him to go over to Kasumi. Kida nods his head and walks over to the two girls, takes a chair and sits next to Kasumi.

Kasumi turns to Kida as he places his elbows on the table and rests his head on his arms. "So Kida…do you really trust me so much that you'll bring me to the Dollars' meeting place?" She asked.

Kida turns to Kasumi and smiles at her. "I don't see anything wrong with you. You look just like us."

'_I do?'_ Kasumi internally thought to herself.

"Now it's time for me to ask you the same question. Do you trust me?" Kida asked Kasumi.

Kasumi remains silent for a moment, feeling hesitated. Kida does love her and it pains her that she would betray him later. She then finally nods her head. "Yeah...yes I do."

"Well, then would you like to come with me upstairs? I can give you a grand tour of what's beyond this café." Kida smirked.

"Umm sure." Kasumi said. Kida extends out his hand and bows his head. Kasumi chuckles, takes Kida's hand and he escorts her to a door at the end of the café. He opens the door, revealing a set of stairs leading to the second floor of the café.

Mikado and Anri both watch Kasumi and Kida walk up the stairs. He then takes out his phone and sends a message to Celty.

'_**She's coming upstairs. Get ready.'**_

* * *

Celty replies to Mikado's message.

'_**Understood.'**_

Celty then puts away her phone and turns her head to Shinra and Kasumi's mother who are both sitting next to her on a couch. Celty and Shinra notice the nervous look on Kasumi's mother's face as she sits between the two.

"Something wrong?" Shinra asked.

"It's been so long. Now I'm going to see her again." Her mother replied. "I wonder what she is going to say to me or how she's going to react."

Her mother turns to Celty as she types a message on her phone. She then shows her message on her phone after she's done typing. _**'Stay strong and positive. Everything will be fine.'**_

"Yeah. Just like the time when I met my father again in a long time." Shinra said to her mother with a grin. "Everything between me and him went perfectly well."

Celty holds up her phone and both Shinra and Kasumi's mother read her message.

'_**Except the part which you thought it was me in the shower and it's actually your father and you see him completely naked.'**_

Shinra gasps in horror as his face blushes a very bright tone of red and he gets up from the couch. "CELTY!" He shouted at her. This causes Kasumi's mother bursts out laughing.

But the laughter instantly dies down when the three can hear footsteps coming from the stairs outside. Shinra quickly sits back down on the couch and adjusts his collar while Celty puts away her phone. She gives Kasumi's mother a pat on her shoulder. She smiles at Celty and nods her head.

The door opens up and the three can hear Kasumi and Kida entering the second floor.

"Wow." Kasumi said as she looks around the second floor. There is a shoe rack placed next to the doorway. The walls are painted white. In front of them is a dining table with a kitchen next to the side. Behind the dining table is a sliding glass door leading to the balcony where there are pots of flowers hanging at the fences.

"Yeah. This is actually the home of Celty Sturluson and Shinra Kishitani, the co-owners of this café. But the other Dollars and I are allowed up here." Kida said to her.

"So where are Celty and Shinra?" Kasumi asked, stroking her hair.

"We're right here." Shinra spoke up.

Kasumi turns her head and sees Shinra and Celty walking over to them. Shinra extends his hand and smiles at Kasumi. "It's nice to finally meet you Kasumi. Kida told me about you."

As Kasumi shakes his hand, Celty types a message on her phone and shows it to Shinra. Shinra reads her message. 'Actually, it's me.'

Shinra turns back to Kasumi and Kida, who the latter nods his head. "Oh." Shinra said as he removes his hand. He adjusts his glasses and walks away in embarrassment while also scratching the back of his head. Kasumi arches an eyebrow as she sees this.

"Oooookay…" Kasumi said awkwardly. She then turns to Celty as she types another message on her phone. She shows it to Kasumi.

'_**Nice to meet you, Kasumi. I'm Celty Sturluson.'**_

Kasumi smiles and nods her head. "Nice to meet you Celty." She said. She then turns to Kida and whispers to him, "Is there a reason why she doesn't show her face?"

Kida shrugged. "We all don't know either." He whispered back.

Kasumi and Kida turn back to Celty as she types another message. She then shows it to her. _**'There's someone I want you to meet.'**_

"Sure. Who is it?" She asked. Celty responds by gesturing her to the living room. Kasumi turns to Kida who nods his head and gestures her to follow Celty. Kasumi turns back to Celty, lets out a sigh, stuffs her hands into her pockets and walks over to Celty. Celty escorts Kasumi to the living room where her mother is waiting for her at the couch.

Kasumi widens her eyes and gapes her mouth open in shock. She couldn't believe who is sitting right in front of her. Her mother looks at Kasumi with a frown.

"Hello Kasumi. It's been a while." Her mother said.

Kasumi's look of shock then distorts into an ugly scowl. Her hands curl into fists and she clenches them tightly. Instantly, she turns around and walks off. Celty reaches out her hand, trying to stop her but Kasumi kept walking. Her mother sighs sadly as she lowers her head. "I knew this would happen."

Kida widens his eyes as he sees Kasumi walking off and heading to the stairway with rage and anger.

"Kasumi?" Kida asked in concern but Kasumi ignored him, opens the door and walks down the stairs. "Kasumi, wait!" He goes after her.

As Kasumi reaches the bottom of the flight of stairs, Kida cries out to her again at the top. "Kasumi!"

"WHAT?!" Kasumi bellowed as she turns around. There was a moment of silence between the two until Kasumi spoke again. "I was a god damn idiot in trusting you! You brought me up just so that I can see my mother again! I never should have told you and your friends about her! I'M LEAVING!"

As Kasumi turns to her left, Kida shouts again, "Kasumi, you don't understand!"

"I fully understand everything!" Kasumi yells back as she is about to walk down the next flight of stairs. But Kida yells again.

"She's ill!"

Instantly, as soon as those two words rang inside Kasumi's head, she stops at her tracks. Her look of rage and anger vanish in an instant. She gapes her mouth open in horror, trying to comprehend what she just heard.

She walks back and looks up at Kida. "What?" She asked in a terrified whisper.

Kida nods his head with a serious frown. "She has leukemia."

**END OF CHAPTER**


	10. Pain

_**Chapter 9: Pain**_

Kasumi walks over to her mother who is still sitting at the sofa. She looks up at her daughter who now looks extremely devastated.

Kasumi quietly sits down on the couch, next to her mother. After a brief moment of silence between the two, Kasumi spoke, "Mom…why didn't you tell me this?"

Her mother sighed. "You never picked up my calls." She said.

Kasumi lowers her head as she felt a sting of guilt inside her heart. "Then…it's all my fault." She said.

Her mother places her hand on her daughter's shoulder. Kasumi looks up and sees her mother shaking her head. "No. Don't blame yourself. It's my fault for not taking care of my health."

"But still! If I had picked up your calls earlier, I could have known about your condition and come back home!" Kasumi cried as hot tears are now welling up in her eyes. "I…I am such a horrible daughter! I…I shouldn't have left home! I was too stubborn and blinded by rage back then! I…"

Her mother wraps her arm around Kasumi and cuddles her closely. Kasumi looks at her mother with tears now flooding down her cheeks.

"Please Kasumi, don't be sad. I too was blinded by anger back then. And looking back, I wished we hadn't got into those fights that ultimately split us apart." Her mother said, fresh tears are now forming in her eyes as well.

"Mom…" Kasumi suppressed a sob to allow her to wipe off the tears from her cheeks. But it was in vain as new ones quickly replace them. "I really wish I have the power to turn back time right now."

The two then look up as Celty walks over to them and stands in front of the two. She takes out her phone and types a message. She then shows it to them.

"_**Sometimes, even through your worst times, there's still no other thing that is stronger than the love between a parent and a child."**_

Kasumi sobs as she slowly nods her head. Her mother couldn't suppress her tears anymore and as she closes her eyes, she allows her tears to flow freely down her cheeks.

Kida watches as he stands behind the two. The expression on his face is badly distorted by the emotional pain tearing at his heart as he watches the sad display. He strokes his hair away from his face as he leaves the room and walks down the stairs to let the two be together in peace.

* * *

Kasumi walks out of the bar as night falls with Kida, Mikado and Anri following her from behind. Both Shinra and Celty agree to help Kasumi take care of her mother and let her stay in their apartment for the time being, which she is thankful for.

Kasumi turns around to face the trio with tearstained eyes. "Guys…" She managed to choke out.

Anri, Mikado and Kida all bow to her apologetically. "Sorry we kept your mother's presence in Ikebukuro a secret from you." Mikado said.

Kasumi manages a small smile and shakes her head. "It's okay. At first I was angry…but now, I do thank you guys for bringing her here. I finally realize…" She paused to wipe her tears off from her eyes and catches her breath. "…How much time I have wasted without having my mother by my side."

Kasumi rubs her chin for a moment before turning away. "I wish to go home now." She said, walking off down the pavement and heads her way home.

"Kasu-" Kida tries to go after her but stops and gets cut off when Mikado grabs him by his arm.

"Let her be alone for a while. She needs time to recollect herself." Mikado said.

Kida turns back to Kasumi, who continues walking off. He lets out a sigh of sadness and pity and turns to Mikado. "Yeah…you're right."

* * *

"Whew! That's all for today!" Shirley proclaimed, wiping off the sweat from her forehead after she finished moping the floor. She places the mop into the pail of water. She carefully lifts the pail up and heads to the kitchen.

Then, she hears the sounds of a key being inserted into a keyhole and the doorknob unlocking itself. Shirley places the pail down on the floor, turns around and sees Kasumi entering into the apartment.

"Kasumi!" Shirley greeted, putting on a huge smile on her face. "How are y-"

Shirley's smile instantly vanished and is replaced by a look of deep concern when she notices the dull and dreadful expression on Kasumi's face. Without a word, Kasumi walks over to the couch and sits down. Shirley strokes her hair as she walks over to Kasumi and sits next to her friend.

"Kasumi?" She asked incredulously in a soft whisper. "Is something wrong?"

"Shirley?" Kasumi spoke up, not looking at her taller friend.

"Yes?" Shirley asked.

"Can you please stay with me for the rest of the night?"

Shirley remained silent for a moment, still unsure what has happened and what caused Kasumi's depressed state. Then, she nods her head. "Sure."

Kasumi then instantly wraps her arms around Shirley and starts sobbing uncontrollably onto her shoulder. Shirley looks stunned for a moment before her shocked expression turns into a look of deep motherly concern and she embraces Kasumi.

"Shirley…Oh Shirley…." Kasumi sobbed in despair.

Shirley gently strokes Kasumi's hair and gently whispers into her ear, "It's okay Kasumi. I'm here for you, because you're my friend." She hushed comfortingly.

For the next hour, Shirley sit next to her friend, locked with her in a warm, comforting embrace. Every time she felt Kasumi wriggle and hears her sob, Shirley would hug her tighter. She has never seen her in an absolute wreck before. But whatever had happened, Shirley knows she has to be at Kasumi's side no matter what. She never likes the sight of her friends being in total despair, even before coming to Japan.

* * *

Shirley wakes up very early to help prepare a nice breakfast for Kasumi, hoping it will cheer her up after last night's bawling.

When she finishes the final touches on her oyster omelet, she grins as she then takes a jug of orange juice and pours them into a cup. After pouring the juice, she places the jug down on the counter and takes the cup and the plate of omelet. She heads to the couch and places them on the table.

She then looks up at the clock mounted on the wall above the television set. It reads 8 o'clock in the morning. It's the usual time Kasumi wakes up from her sleep. She turns to the door to Kasumi's room and still doesn't see her coming out. Shirley sighs as she gets up from the couch and walks to the door.

She knocks on the door a couple of times before saying, "Kasumi, I have prepared breakfast for you. I hope you enjoy it."

* * *

Kasumi could hear Shirley speaking to her from inside her room as she puts on her jacket, but she doesn't respond. She rubs her eyes, trying to keep them open. She didn't have a decent sleep last night as the thought of her sick mother still casts a shadow inside her mind.

She lets out a heavy yawn just as her phone rang. Kasumi turns to her phone which she placed on her table. She goes over to it and sees the message shown on the lock screen on her phone.

**_"Kasumi! It's been days since we last saw you! Come to the hideout and report to Boss Horada now!"_**

Kasumi narrows her eyes. She takes her phone and unlocks it. She opens up the message and after staring at it for a while, she deletes the message.

Today is the day her mind is set. She will never associate herself with the Yellow Scarves anymore.

**END OF CHAPTER**


End file.
